LeBron James Turned Down a $10 Million Check from Reebok at 18-Years-Old

Back in 2003 LeBron James had become the most hyped high school athlete of all-time. This was a guy who was drawing comparisons to Magic and Michael at 17-years-old. He was also a walking dollar sign. Everyone wanted a piece of James, because they knew he would one day equal millions and millions of dollars for them.

All three major sneaker companies in the game were making a push for the Chosen One. Reebok was a serious contender to sign James to his first sneaker deal. Led by Allen Iverson, who was a hero to kids from the inner cities that James was from, the brand was at it’s peak. Nike was always the perfect destination for James, and they would ultimately offer the most money and best branding, but LeBron reveals that things got real when Reebok offered him a $10 million check during his senior year to not meet with Adidas and Nike. James did the math on it, and turned it down. Check out the new episode of Kneading Dough on Uninterrupted above.